Shingeki no Soul Eater
by Amber Masquerade
Summary: Titan AU. In a world where humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction by giants, Maka Albarn is one of the few who choose to fight for it. But along the way, she unexpectedly finds that the key to their survival may not lie within their willpower to exist, but within the hands of a single boy. Based on the Shingeki no Kyojin anime. SoulxMaka-centric, will be rated M.
1. Beginning of the End

**A/N: So yeah, I'm pretty much obsessed with this series and I had to write a titan AU for my one year anniversary, although I feel guilty for promising a different story. Well, someone was gonna do it, so why don't I do it first? **

**Let's clear things up first:**

**This fanfic is purely based off the Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan) ANIME, NOT the MANGA. I haven't read the manga yet so anything that's in there is not here. **

**This story has _my_ own interpretation theory of the titans, and, once again, it does not come from the manga. So please, don't leave a review saying "Well, _ didn't happen in the show" or "In the manga _ happened" because it has nothing to do with it.**

**This story contains MAJOR spoilers for the actual series, so if you haven't seen/read it yet, _don't say I didn't warn you._ **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater or Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan. No actual titans were harmed in the making of this fanfic.**

* * *

_Year 845_

"TITAN! A TITAN HAS BREACHED THE WALL!"

His cry echoes through the carrier hold and into every orange-jacketed soldier's ear. There's a sense of confusion and absolute horror that sweeps across the courtyard as soon as the words hit their ears. She perks her head up, jade eyes widening in bewilderment and shoots up from where she had been seated on the bench, casually and calmly chatting away with the other members of her squad. They all have their attention towards the source of the terrifying announcement, pupils constricted in shock, struggling to comprehend the fact that _a titan has breached the wall._ There was a brief pause in the open air for glances to be exchanged. She turns her head back to her teammates, and, with only silence as their exchange of communication, a mutual pact between each was made: _survive and kill_. All hell breaks loose with a mass shuffling of boots against concrete, soldiers rushing past in preparation in the courtyard. The girl sitting on the bench runs off from her scattered squad.

_This wasn't supposed to happen._ Her mind races as runs into the supply room and over to the racks to snatch a harness and two cylindrical silver gas tanks. _It hasn't happened for a whole century, so why now?_ She's been training for the Recon Corps for three years, ripe at the age of seventeen, but still had yet to take down an actual giant.

"Oi! Pick up the speed!" the squadron leader shouts over the buzz of scrambling soldiers, running around to grab their equipment or to tighten their harnesses or refill their gas tanks. "REPORTS SAY THEY'RE ALREADY PAST THE FIRST DAMN BARRIER! HURRY UP!" The summer air is relentlessly humid around them, and the sun is already at its peak in the sky.

The giant bell tolls above, signaling a grim future for the townspeople. No one would ever suspect the wall to be broken. It had happened too quickly. It hadn't happened for a century, ever since the creation of their god-given wall that was supposedly impenetrable and unsurpassed any titan. It wasn't supposed to happen at all. No one has a clue of what was going on in the outside.

For thousands of years, titans have terrorized the human race. They are giants, ranging from 7 meters to 15 meters high. They resemble homo sapiens, having every appendage that a regular human would have such as hair, fingers, legs, eyes, mouths and ears. Titans are beings of mystery. Their intelligence is thought to be at a low level, they have a tendency to become distracted with a short attention span and have no capacity to form cognitive thoughts. They do not communicate or speak words; scientists conclude that they are mindless beasts. Unlike their human counterparts, they run rampant without any clothing and lack human reproductive parts, which baffle scientists on how they can procreate. Their body temperatures are also abnormally high in comparison to the normal human body temperature. They also have regenerative powers, which make them nearly impossible to kill with the exception of a single known weakness: to cut though the back of their necks, which would stop their regrowth and ultimately kill them. What was worse was that they also never targeted any other living creature to feast upon. Just humans. Scientist grimly conclude that they do not hunt by nutritional needs, but purely by the apparent purpose of killing them.

They would have hunted people to the point of extinction, if it hadn't been for the formidable circular wall that had been built around their civilization, which keeps titans out and humans inside. All kinds of giants lingered outside of the hardened walls, never able to get past it. Its height surpassed any sized titan known to man. Its width is far more larger than any titan can break through. It covers a massive area of land, and three walls were constructed, encircling the smaller circles built within it. The outermost wall - Wall Maria, as it was called - contains the majority of the human population and serves as the foremost defensive mechanism; after it is broken through people could flee and escape to the secondary inner circle, guarded by Wall Rose. Inside of Wall Rose was Wall Sina, which was home to royalty only. However, it will mean that the largest living area that was home to majority of the population will fall to the titans. They live in constant fear that it would somehow collapse. For generations it has been like this, with no citizen to ever leave the interiors of the walls in fear of getting eaten.

A brigade of willing soldiers, trained to use Three Dimensional Maneuvering Gear that allowed them to fight against the titans with pistol-fired grappling hooks that helped them cling to tall buildings, gas-powered propellers that allowed them fly through the streets and across the air with great speed and agility, and long flat and sharpened swords that could help them slash through giant slabs of thick skin, guarded society. Order was established thanks to this new military that consisted of three branches - The Recon Corps, who were the soldiers who would leave the protection of the walls to find a new area where humanity could expand, the Stationary Guards who were entrusted with the duty of protecting the wall and to guard it from titans, and finally, the Military Police, which were high-ranking soldiers who were the personal guards of the royal family. Humans were safe for a whole entire century, living peacefully within the boundaries. And now it was gone.

"56th squadron! Get out there and defend the fleeing citizens! 19th squadron! Ready the boats! Prepare to move the citizens within the inner walls!" He roars. She slides her silver gas canisters into their holders, and slings a large rectangular metal container full of grappling hooks over both her shoulders and fastens them to her brown belt. She then grabs her two large swords and slides it in with her grappling hook holsters and takes spare blades with her.

"Small-class titans have invaded the interior of the city! Wall Maria has fallen to the colossal titan!"

She heaves in a breath as the gate doors roll upwards slowly, revealing a bright and sunny afternoon outside. "Troops, prepare yourselves!" It was too beautiful of a day for this to be happening.

By the time her boots are crunching against the gravel pavement of the town, she could already spot pillars of smoke billowing up from broken buildings. The others of her squad are following behind her closely, their swords drawn to their sides and gleaming silver against the bright sun. "Maka! Where to?" A boy with spiky blue calls to her from behind.

"56th squadron! Move out to the front line!" she barks, pulling a trigger attached to her body harness and a long grappling hook shoots from her container, lodging itself in the brick of a building wall 50 feet away. "We'll help the first line in defense!" The impact releases the pressurized gas. It filters through her iron propellers on her lower back, and a stream of forceful gas rockets her forward towards the embedded hook and reels her towards the building as she flies through the air.

The other members of her troops follow her lead, filling the air with wires that fly past her and plunge into the walls across. They fly above the rooftop, fueled by their gas tanks, using the momentum of the angle created by the hook to swing above the wall and straight ahead. The girl withdraws her hook and it lashes back into its holster while she is still in midair. For a moment, the whole town is below their feet. But in the distance, she could see the toll of the damage taken by the town: crumpled houses smashed by flying rubble from when the wall was shattered open, whole pieces of buildings ripped by massive hands from their foundation, blood and human body parts splayed out on the pavement.

Multiple titan heads loom over buildings. They lumber around slowly, scanning around with their eyes to search for prey with aimless expressions plastered on their faces. Cries of horror and screams ring out into the air, pleading not to be eaten. She lands of the rooftop flawlessly, brown boots skidding across shingles, and leaps across the rooftop to another one with her comrades following closely behind. "How many are there?!" A black-haired man named Thomas asks, trailing behind her.

"Quite a few. Be careful!" She warns. Tsubaki, a young twenty-two year old woman with sleek black hair tied into a single ponytail and bright cerulean eyes, catches up to her as they run and jump. They were approaching the front line, where the most damage had been done. "Just kill as many as you can. Remember our training. And don't forget to protect each other, okay?"

BlackStar snorted. "Don't you dare underestimate the great BlackStar!"

The blonde squad leader gave an exasperated sigh. "Cocky words like that will get you killed," she deadpans.

"Maka! There's a 15-meter class titan coming up!" Tsubaki yells, calling her attention to the building almost 40 meters away, where a large-bodied titan sulks around in the empty streets. She nods in reply. She sprints off and leaps onto the next roof with the others following her lead.

The seventeen year-old spots the large titan, trudging across a pathway. Tall male, muscular, short brown hair, slumping shoulders and slightly twisted body. Blood smears its lips and fingers. Her stomach lurches. Her fingers twitch at the thought of whipping out her blades. She's been trained for three years, and this is the first time she's laid her eyes on one. _A titan._ How disgustingly inhuman it appears as it swallows victims whole, even taking the time to chew some whilst still alive. She's seen diagrams but never the real thing. And now her source of hatred is lumbering in front of her, just a hook swing away.

"I've got it!" She shouts, releasing two spears that impales the sides of the buildings oppositely facing each other. She leaves her squad behind her and swings towards it with speed, unsheathing her double swords. _Just like practice_, she reassures herself, pulling a trigger on her handles that activates a spew of gas behind her. She'd never slain an actual titan yet. She had just been trained to kill giant practice ones made from wood. This was completely different.

_Just like practice_. The titan rears its head slowly and sees her rushing towards it, swords shining in the distance. It turns its tubby body, plump from gluttony, and focuses its black marble eyes on her. It's eyes contain no emotion. Its bloodstained arms hang limply against its sides. She freezes, still hurdling towards it. It smiles sinisterly at her, welcoming its next meal. It spreads its grotesquely large jawline wide and open, waiting for her to land right in. _Just like practice!_ She forces herself to break free of her haze, reinforcing the grip on her handles. A voice calls behind her, just as she's a few meters below the interior of the giant's mouth.

She summons a battle cry from deep within her chest, rearing her sword behind her head, activating a short burst of gas that only made her go faster. The giant prepares to chomp, but she's quicker. She launches a grappling hook that attaches to the building behind its back, swings around the titan, and flings herself back upwards. Her teammates watch in awe as she soars above his head with astonishing grace and brings the blades down across its nape, leaving a giant gaping cut on the back of its neck. The titan takes a faltering step forward, then falls face-forward into the ground with a mighty _thump_.

She lands on a rooftop, her blade stains deep red and steams from the hot body temperature of her titan victim. The others cheer her on. However, the battle had just begun. Other titans still lumber along, grabbing innocent citizens trying to escape and greedily devour them as their terrified screams penetrate the afternoon air. She swings around after hearing a small child sobbing in the street below. Another smaller-class titan looms over her, bending down to pick the little girl up by her arm. She wails as the giant observes her flailing body, then it tilts its head back and holds her above its gaping maw to eat as a small snack.

"Tsubaki! BlackStar! Thomas! Attack pattern A!" She launches a hook and they follow after her. She swings straight for the girl, tucking away her swords in their holsters, while Tsubaki and Thomas jump down to the ground and charge at its ankles. BlackStar soars above her.

Maka extends her arms as she flies towards the girl, and grabs her right before the titan can drop her into its mouth. Tsubaki and Thomas slash at its ankles. The titan drops to its knees, giant gashes forming on both of its lower legs, while BlackStar had swung above it and goes in for the kill. He's above its head, bring down his swords right across its weak point - the nape of its neck. Just like the last one, it falls limply to the ground. Two down. Too many to go.

She has the crying girl in her arms as she plants herself down on the rooftop. She bends down to comfort her, to stop her crying before it attracts more titans. "Where are your parents?" She asks gently, caressing strands of black hair away from her dirtied puffy cheeks.

The girl opens her auburn eyes and sniffles and points to the fallen giant below, directing the soldier's eyes to the bloodstains on the giant's lips and fingers. Maka's demeanor goes from gentle to solemn. "Gone."

"I'm sorry," she says, her expression darkening. She turns to address her teammates, who are waiting patiently on the rooftops for her next order. "Where are the front liners? Shouldn't they be here by now, defending the entrance?!" she shouts to her friends. In the distance, smoldering smoke continues to billow up from some buildings, titans march around. But no sign of the other soldiers, who guard the wall and are the first line of defense when it had been broken through.

"Perhaps they've been...wiped out..." Nerius, a twenty year-old woman with long brown hair that fell to her shoulders and wary blue eyes, suggests solemnly.

"That's highly possible, considering the amount of damage that's been done here," Thomas responds. "They were the best fighters we had."

Maka sighs with frustration as the little girl squirms next to her. "Do you think you can prevent them from progressing into the city while I go and request back-up and drop her off?" she asks.

They nod. "We'll try, Maka," says Thomas with a solemn gaze.

"I'll take you to the escape point." She stands up with the girl in her arms. "Guys! I'll be right back! I have to bring her to the escape point!"

Tsubaki looks up. "Wait! We still need you out here fighting! You're the best soldier in the squad!" She says, worriedly.

Maka looks around and sees all eleven of her squad-mates. Everyone had leapt from their spots on the roof and was either occupied with a clash against a titan, or soaring off into the distance. But the number of giants compared to soldiers still is largely uneven. "Don't worry, I'll only be gone for a short while."

Tsubaki turns back to plead her to stay once more, but she already swung off. Her words are cut off by a loud thump of a titan rumbling towards her, holding out its hands greedily towards her small body. "Please, hurry back."

* * *

She feels the girl cuddling up against the crook of her neck and whimpering from the heights and speed she is flying at. "Don't worry, I'm holding on tightly," she reassures her.

The toddler looks up into the collar of her orange coat. "What happened to Mama? When will she be back?" she asks.

Maka pauses, her expression darkening. She looks up and focuses on her flying, but then her eyes go wide. The little one squeaks as she makes a rough landing on a rooftop. "Shush," she quiets the girl and ducks low to the shingles. Just ahead of her was a giant titan, shambling around with its head hung down and its dirty blonde hair draping over its face. Maka stifles her breath and waits for it to pass. _How did this one get so far into the city?!_ she thinks. It was the wall guards' duty to stop them. Now, she doubts that any of them were even alive. She starts to worry for her own team. Maka learns that it is not the only one to advance this far beyond the wall entrance. Five more were scattered throughout the nearby buildings, wandering around the emptied streets, heading straight for the evacuation point where most of the survivors are situated. Her mind begins to race.

"Mama..." the girl begins to sob, and Maka panics.

"Shh!" she hushes.

The crying girl lifts her teary eyes to the side and points to the edge of their building. Maka gasps and picks her up, retreating to the other side of the roof. Two titan-sized eyes, bulging and pale blue, are set on the orange-jacketed soldier and looms right over the edge. His over enlarged forehead is slick with sweat, and the lining of his brown hair juts up from the edges of the side of the roof, and his fingers were edging over the sides, shifting against the shingles and feeling around for them. Maka draws her sword.

The titan was on the tips of his toes, leaning over to reach for them. Maka dodges a hand sweeping the top of the roof reaching out to snatch her and the young one. Shingles fly everywhere, one smashes into the side of her shoulder. With the girl in one arm and a sword occupying the other hand, she backflips onto the chimney as a giant fist slams down at her, caving in a large portion of the roof. She narrowly avoids getting flattened. The titan grows more impatient, waving his hands wildly about the surface of the roof while she attempts to slash at it with her blade. The girl clings uncomfortably tight to her neck. Maka fires her maneuvering gear into another structure across from them and leaps from the rooftop, and the titan made a grab for her wire. She summons her might in mid-air and slices its wrist, causing blood to spurt out like a fountain. She sets the girl down on a patch of unscathed roof and orders her not to move.

She takes her chance. The titan is preoccupied with its severed wrist, observing it with a blank expression as steam rolls out of the giant wound, and a skeletal version of its hand starts to emerge from the base of its wrist. It is regenerating, which meant she only had a small window of time to kill it before its hand reappears again. She swings around and flings herself behind it, blades swinging fiercely as she swipes them into the back of her neck and lands against its back. The titan flings its head back, and its limbs are halting their motion. Maka pushes herself off its falling body and leaps into the air.

The girl watches as the blonde soldier lands right in front of her, blade gleaming against the harsh sunlight, emerald eyes sparking with the likeness of a wild fire. Maka sighs, lowering her shoulders to withdraw her tainted swords back into their holsters. "Are you okay?" she asks. The girl nods, extending her arms so that Maka could pick her up against and hold her against the side of her chest. "Ready to go?" she asks, making sure that the toddler's arms were secured around her neck.

"Thank you," the girl murmurs quietly.

As soon as she lands on the opposite-facing roof, she launches another hook and swings once more, blasting through the streets with a gush of wind streaming behind her. The evacuation point, a dock loaded with two large boats and a massive crowd of inhabitants, beckons them in the distance. Heads turn as she lands safely in front of the crowd and near her fellow soldiers. "Kid! She pushes herself through the crowd. "Take this one with you!" She calls to another guard who was in charge of evacuating the citizens. She sees citizens all around them, mostly men, surrounding the large boats that were crammed with women and children. One boat was already headed towards a small entrance towards the inner wall, while the one in front of her was still being loaded. Citizens push and cry and claw their way towards the loading dock, desperately reaching for their chance to get onto the ship and reach safety.

The young man with black hair and white stripes stands next to other soldier in line, their arms extended to push back the uproarious crowd. He spots her as she pushes through the mass of people with a young girl in her arms. He nods as she carries the girl towards him and hands her off, and he sets her down gently into the boat already filled with many people. "Where is your squad?" he inquires, shouting over the crowd. "How are they fairing?"

"They're all engaged in battle. I came here to drop her off and ask for reinforcements for them. They're the only squad out there right now," she says.

Kid shakes his head. "It's no good. The higher ups have decided that there's no way we're gonna win against them. They're going to call for a retreat in an hour or so and they've decided to close the gate once and for all. You should stay here and evacuate with us."

She's taken aback. "But my troops are still out there! You can't just abandon them! At least send in backup!"

"I'm sorry, Maka. Their decision is final. They will be closing the gate once the maximum of civilians can be fit on these boats. After this, no one will be able to get in or out, and you'll have to climb the wall instead," he finishes.

"You can't do that!" She yells. "Make them open the gate long enough for us to escape!"

"If we do, then the titans will get through and we'll lose another inner level to them! They can't allow that to happen! Once these two boats set sail with everyone on, it's finished! You might as well stay here and escape while you can!" He says.

She grits her teeth. "No way! I'll bring back my troops!"

"Maka, you're making a mistake!" She ignores him as he tries to put a firm hand on her shoulder, and runs off into the crowd. "They're probably dead by now!" His words echo through the hum of the crowd.

Once she's behind the mass, she shoots a pair of grappling hooks into the nearby street and flies off. She would not abandon the ones she was designed to protect. She is the squad leader. She soars above buildings and sprints across multiple roofs, all while passing the gory scenes seen on the abandoned streets of her district. Cobblestone pathways stained with scarlet. Buildings torn into pieces. Houses completely crushed. As she does, she searches desperately for her teammates. She'd only been gone for half and hour. "Tsubaki! BlackStar! Thomas! Nerius!" She lands on a rooftop to regain her breath. "Ash!" No answer. "Erus!" Nothing but the rush of wind in her ears, and the sound of titans' stomping around the grounds in the distance. "Harriet!" Her squad was nowhere to be seen. She stops on the tip of a pointed roof, glancing out into the faded horizon.

No one answers. Nothing but the empty streets below.

'_They're probably dead by now!'_

Kid's words ring in her head. They can't be dead. She didn't train her team to be this weak. She whips her head around the other way, and nothing has changed. Still no one in sight.

_Thump_.

She hears a loud and dull thump behind her. "Hello?"

She turns around hopefully, but it's not the sight she wants to see. It's another titan, staring at her, a twisted smile curling across his face. It has long black hair, and a lanky body where the outline of its ribcage could be seen through the skin. It drools uncontrollably, eyeing her with droopy red vacant eyes. It's taller than the other titan that was after her. But still, this one was no different than the two others she had killed. The hatred reignites in her mossy pupils as it grins widely at her, wrinkles creasing its disgusting face.

He jerks his head down and snaps his jaws at her, but takes a large chomp out of the rooftop instead as Maka leaps the side to avoid it. The titan's mouth is full of wood and bricks from biting the building, but it nearly pulls the rubble from his jaws. Maka stands to her knees as it pulls away from the building, raising a giant hand towards her to grab her. She unsheaths her sword and backpedals before his hand could reduce her to a splatter on the shingles. She swings around and heads toward she edge, where she knows she could easily swing off and onto the next building.

Maka barely has time to summon her gear before it swats its hand at her and tries to knock her off from the edge. She jumps and narrowly avoids getting smushed by its hand, and she attempts to swing herself to safety on a taller rooftop where it couldn't reach her. Her gaze gravitates to the opposite building. She could hear its heavy footsteps sprinting towards her. She fires her gas and it shoots her up towards the top of the roof and when she pushes off from there she'll finally be safe -

A giant hand intercepts her path and comes swinging down, smashing her out of the air and across the floor.

She bounces off the ground, skidding against cobblestone as pain envelops her body.

Everything spins unstoppably around her as she skips across the dirt like a stone would skip across the surface of water, her body twisting painfully with each impact.

She finally comes to a halting stop as soon as her back slams into the edge of a cobblestone building wall with a sickening, bone-breaking _thud_.

Light leaves her vision as the impact stuns her entire body, leaving her with no trace of air in her lungs. She could feel the outline of her body indented into the wall, and then she crumples to her knees, face falling into the shattered stone. Her grip weakens around the swords, and they clatter to the ground beside her. Black holes dot her vision as her hands fall to her sides, and she collapses to the ground. _Is this it_? The world seemingly has stopped around her.

She can't move her body, which is racked with agony. Everything is numb. She only hears the subtle and rhythmic thumps of oversized footsteps lumbering towards her, and feel the ground vibrate below her. The amount of air she forces with each breath lessens as pain consumes her. She knows she's going to die. She didn't even find her other teammates yet. She had only slain a few titans. She has done nothing for humanity and now she was just going to die in the most disgusting and dishonorable manner that a soldier could possibly die by: getting eaten by a titan.

_What a shitty way to go,_ she thinks as her sight blurs between the phases of light and dark, until there was nothing but black.

* * *

The blue-eyed girl looks around in horror at the sight before her, and holds back terrified whimpers. After only downing a few titans, she had her wire tripped on by a small-class titan, bringing her down on a rooftop. Her left leg is twisted in a painful angle, and she struggles to bring herself to stand. All of her other comrades had either been devoured or voraciously torn apart by titan hands. Now, they surround the building she was atop, trying to reach her. Tears start to stream down her eyes, staining her pale cheeks. "Tsubaki!" She hears a voice call her name in the distance, the voice of a young boy.

"B-BlackStar?!" He lands on the roof in front of her. His spiky blue hair is matted in blood, and his orange jacket is ripped and tattered. There are multiple wounds on his arms, and his shoulders are slumping. He holds his sword, tainted with scarlet, to his sides.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" Relief fills her eyes. Tearily, she watches as he charges towards her and leaps a great distance to where she lay. "You okay?" He lands roughly next to her, crying out in pain as soon as his tattered legs slam against the shingles.

"I...I think I'm gonna die here," she murmurs hopelessly. "Aren't I?"

He shook his head vigorously with grit teeth. "Don't say that! We've trained too damn long for you to just give up like this!" He lifts her up by the back of her arms and slings her over his wounded shoulder. One leg hangs limply from her body. "Don't say that...especially after everyone else - "

"Stop it! Everyone is dead already!" She admits. "Only us remain! I don't even know where our squad leader went when we need her the most!"

"Don't say that. Maka's fine," he growls. "We'll get the fuck outta here, get to the gate and escape." He takes a weak step forward, collapsing to one knee. He was bearing the weight of his own injuries and his friend at the same time. He slides one sword back into its holster and manages to lift himself once more. "Just hold on."

Tsubaki feels grateful tears swelling on the rim of her eyes as her body slumps over his. "Wh-Why? Just get out of here and save yourself! Even if I were to survive, I'd be useless in battle! Just go, BlackStar!" She attempts to knock his hands away from her, but he secures a hand around her shoulder firmly.

He shakes her suddenly, vigorously. "Shut up, Tsubaki! Stop saying that shit! I don't give a fuck whether you're useless or not you're still here! Maka wouldn't care either! She'd want you alive, remember?" He yells.

Tsubaki stops her struggling. "Why would you do this for me?" she asks quietly.

"'Cause we're teammates, dumbass," he huffs. The blue-haired boy smirks. "Besides, it's the first battle. It'd look shitty if we died now."

She nods with a soft smile accompanying her gentle voice. "It's pretty pathetic of us, isn't it?"

Still dwelling below their building were the few titans who remained, trying to get them from the far height. "Let's try and find Maka first."

* * *

_A young girl with ash-blonde pigtails waited at the edge of a crowd that lined both sides of a cobblestone pathway near the edge of the entrance of the wall. They waited in solemn silence, staring for the heavy guarded brick gate to rise open slowly. The girl squeezed her palms, digging her nails into her hand. Her runaway heart thrummed away in her chest. She was just as nervous as everyone else, especially those whose families had people in the Recon Corps, which was a special section of the military that dealt with exploring the outside titan-infested world in search of a new area where humans could thrive and form a new civilization. The walls would not last forever, they knew. Most missions had failed so far, resulting in many casualties of soldiers and some never returning or deserting. She knew this because her Mama and Papa were in the Recon Corps, and, as top members of their squadron, had returned from every mission. This time, she hoped, would be no different. _

_A bell tolled in the distance. Her heart fluttered. The gate of the entrance descended upwards. A copious amount of gasps escaped the crowd. Two men, both wearing the symbolic orange, wander in from a grassy background behind them. One dragged the reins of a defeated-looking horse with its ears flopped downwards, shouldering an unconscious man who hung limply from the saddle. Upon closer look, one leg was merely a bloodied stump. She almost hurled. _

_Behind those two men, a small crowd of more soldiers piled into the entrance, all with hopeless looks and morose gazes. It seemed they refuse to look up and face the crowd that hoped so much from them. The girl searched desperately for her parents, but she had yet to see them. She reassured herself that there were still more people filing in, and that they were probably lagging behind. Two men came limping in, their outfits dirtied, supporting another guy who limped as he walked, one of them was missing an arm. The squadron leader, a tall brown-haired man with taunt cheeks and firm outline, came riding in slowly as the last person inside. His horse trudged slowly past the crowd, his head lung low. Behind him was a large wheelbarrow covered in a white top. A small hue of red seeped through the cover, staining the white with scarlet red. The wall started to close behind him. She wanted to yell at them to stop. Maybe they had accidentally closed it before her parents had made it in. She held herself back. _

_He stopped abruptly, looking up suddenly to face everyone. "The mission...it was a failure. We did not obtain new land, nor did we obtain any new information on the titans." His words dimmed the hope in the citizens' eyes. "There have been dozens of casualties." She prayed that it wasn't true. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Many people haven't returned." He turned his head back down and proceeded to urge his horse forward. _

_She finally forced herself to break away from the crowd. She stepped in front of his horse, stopping it. "Where is Mama and Papa?" She asked, her insignificant words piercing the empty air. _

_The man raised his head slowly and looked down at her with no emotion and blank chestnut eyes. He reached behind to the wheelbarrow, but his hand hovered over the tarp hesitantly. After meeting her gaze directly, he withdrew his hand and placed it over his heart. "I'm sorry..." his voice trembled, and his eyes failed to keep her gaze. He slid off his saddle with an orange coat in his hand. "This was the only thing we could salvage from your mother. I'm not sure where your father is." He held it out to her. The girl took it from him, caressing the smooth fabric of her mother's orange uniform coat. "I'm sorry."_

_She was only nine. She took the coat and held it to her chest. She could not comprehend the death of her parents. She could only feel warm tears running down the outline of her cheeks. He bent down to face her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "S-So...Mama and Papa...are not coming h-home?" She managed, vision riddled with the blur of water. _

_He shook his head. "I'm sorry."_

Something nudges her shoulder. "Hey, are you dead?"

_"Please forgive me, I've failed as a squad leader! I let them succumb to the titans! I let everyone down!" The man became hysterical, tears pouring out of his eyes._

"C'mon, get up already. I can see you breathing."

_"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He sobbed, burying his face in his hands in front of the young girl. "I'm so sorry..."_

The nudging becomes more intense, shaking her body vigorously. The pain arouses her from her dreams. She's facing upwards, finding that her eyes are being assaulted by harsh light. "Am I dead?" she croaks, and feels a cold hard surface pressing up against her finger tips. Feeling returns to her appendages, and pain reminds her that she's not quite there yet.

"No you're not, dumbass," says a low, husky voice. A shadow looms over her, shielding her from a small portion of the light. She opens her eyes, and her vision only makes out silhouettes. There's a blurry black mass hovering over her face, and a hand reaches out and waves in front of her face. "Wake up already, or else I'll have to leave you here to be eaten."

Her eyelids fling open to see her savior, and green eyes rove around to focus her vision at him. It is a young man who wears the same uniform as her. He looks normal from the neck down, except as soon as she scans his face she finds that his frizzy hair is oddly winter-white and his eyes are a burning red against his tan skin. His eyes are droopy, his harness is sloppily attached to his body without second thought and careless cockiness. He was the type of man who looked like he didn't care who looked as if he didn't give a shit where he was. She cranes her head upwards, and he leans back, smirking, revealing a row of sharp pearly white teeth. "Who are you?" she musters, and finds it strange to meet eyes with this red-eyed boy who looked her age.

"Soul Eater Evans, 104th squadron," he says with a twisted grin of amusement. He turns his body to the side and carelessly dangles his legs off the edge of the roof.

She looks around and below. The titan that had been chasing her was laying facedown on the ground with the nape of his neck sliced through. Its body is steaming, disintegrating from where it lays. "You saved me? What happened to those titans?"

He shrugs. "I killed 'em all. You're damn lucky I was there." She tilts her head towards the side of the building and sees that all five titans are gone. How had he managed to slay all of them without any help? She swivels her head around and returns to him with an incredulous gaze.

"You're a part of the army? I've never seen you during training before," she observes.

He turns his head slightly to give her a dull red side-glance. "I'm a new recruit. I graduated early," he answers. He stands, looming over the roof edge.

"Why are you here? I thought backup wasn't coming for us," she says, clenching her throbbing temples. She attempts to stand, but she ends up on her knees. The boy helps her to her feet, but she clings onto his shoulder.

"They're not. I'm the only one who came to scope out the damage. Everyone thinks you're dead since you never returned to climb the inner wall to safety. The gate has already closed, and titans are starting to surround it already," he says. "I'm not gonna be here forever." She tries to gain independence from him and stand up straight, but she ends up falling back against his shoulder. A headache pounds away in her skull.

"Y-yeah," she manages. "Alright, I'm fine now."

"You should get off your ass already. Everyone's gone," he says.

"Wait! How long've I been out?" She asks, gaze widening.

"A good twenty minutes or so." The mysterious boy cocks his head at her, looking uninterested and uninvested in their current situation.

"Shit! I still haven't found my squadron yet!" She says, panic fills her voice. Maka struggles to take a few steps forward.

"I won't wait up for ya. You're on your own now," he says, his shoulder leaving from under her arm. "My orders are strict." He launches a cable and descends off the roof. "See ya around." He swings off, leaving her alone.

"Wait - !" He's too far gone for her to hear him. She's alone now, listening to the eerie quiet of the town. She sighs, gazing out into the horizon. She never even got to thank him.

The sun hovers over the top of their wall, beginning to duck behind it. Right on the entrance, where a giant stone gate is supposed to be is a giant gaping hole. She knows that the walls are exceptionally thick, as thick as 4 meters in width. But all that was left was a giant hole, where any sized titan could easily walk in. Who or _what _could've done such damage to an impenetrable wall? she wonders.

She shakes herself from terrifying thoughts. There probably is no such thing as a colossal titan. They probably had an accident and the wall imploded. She ignores her pain and forces herself to concentrate at the task at hand - find her teammates and make it over the secondary wall, located at the center of town. She fires a grappling hook to the next building, and leaps from the edge.

"BlackStar! Thomas!" She starts to call their names again, and crosses empty street and an occasional rotting body of a giant titan sprawled out, disintegrating on the ground. "Anyone?!" Her hope was diminishing with each passing war-ravaged building. It was their first fight, not their only one. She was a squad leader, she wasn't supposed to let her teammates down.

_'Please forgive me, I've failed as a squad leader! I let them succumb to the titans! I let everyone down!'_

The words from the man from her memory rings back in her head. Ever since that day, she had pledged to be the best member she could. She couldn't let them down, like that man did. She's lost in thoughts for a moment, absent-mindedly swinging past buildings. The streets are abandoned. Her stomach churns as she swings past remnants of a human body, seeing a tattered orange jacket laying on the cobblestone.

"OOF!"

She crashes into a flash of blue. She falls on the surface of a small roof.

"Fuck, Maka, why don't'cha look where you're swinging?!" A screechy voice says, and she immediately recognizes it as BlackStar's. She pushes herself from the shingles and sees Tsubaki laying flat on his back.

"You're alive!" She says with relief. She grabs BlackStar by his collar and hauls him up. "Tell me what happened! Where's everyone else?" He shakes his head, eyes falling upon Tsubaki for help. "Thomas?" No answer. "Harriet?"

"They're all gone," Star admits bitterly and bites his lower lip. "They're all dead. We saw 'em getting eaten. All of 'em."

Maka's pupils go wide. "They're...gone...?" She had just seen them only an hour ago.

Tsubaki nods slowly, tears forming on the rim of her eyes again. "We couldn't save them. I'm sorry." Her grips loosens around his shirt, and she lets go of Star, her gaze is lost in the distance. The brunette's eyes grow distant, remembering the gory details of her teammates, each one of them, slaughtered one by one. Thomas was grabbed and crushed to death in its hands before being swallowed. Nerius had been swatted from the air, only to be crushed overhead by a giant foot. Harriet, a peppy blonde-haired girl with chestnut eyes had been outnumbered by three titans. All of them were gone. Not one survived, except for those two. It had only taken a mere half and hour for a whole brigade to fall.

"Sorry, Maka," Star apologizes emptily. "We couldn't save them. It all happened too fast."

Maka's shoulders tremble, clenched fists falling to her sides. "No," she shakes her head, and her eyes hide behind the shade of her blonde bangs. "As the squad leader..." her voice quivers through grit teeth. She rejects her tears. "I take full responsibility."

"Maka? Are you okay?" The gentle woman reaches out her hands. "It's alright..."

"Let's just make it to the gate," she says, emotionless. She shrugs away Tsubaki's hand. "I've failed."

* * *

By the time they scale the wall with their gear and make it over, the sun had set and had disappeared under the the smoking town of Wall Maria. The refugees that had been piled onto boats were now safe within Wall Rose, the secondary wall. They are surrounded by a crowd of refugees who had made it by boat to the inner wall. With a smaller living space than the rest of the area, they are all squished together in the town center, waiting for food and water to be served to them, clamoring away.

To the side of the area, Maka and the remaining members of her squad stand silently in front of their garrison leader, all looking defeated. "56th squadron, reporting for duty," she says her empty words, and salutes their army leader by putting her left arm behind her back and her right arm bent on her chest, both fists clenched. BlackStar stands next to her and does the same, and Tsubaki is on a crutch with one leg with a cast on it. Their leader strides to the three, his stern face sports a disappointed frown, the brows to his darkened eyes furrowing. His jaws are taunt against his chiseled chin, worn down and weary from many battles. He runs his rough hands against the short brown hair of his head, deep in his thoughts.

"So you're all that's left?" He asks, observing the three of them with harsh chestnut eyes.

"Yessir," she nods slowly. "We failed to eliminate all of the titan menace. Most of our brigade is gone."

He shakes his head. "Pity. You were one of the best squads we had." Maka cringes at those words. "I'll have no choice but to relocate you with another squad." The blonde's hung head sinks deeper towards her chest.

"...I'm sorry," she whispers.

The garrison leader sighs, putting a hand to his forehead. He turns his head slowly and nods at another soldier standing in the crowds. "Leader of the 104th squad, come forward," he orders. A boy parts the crowd, coming into view of Tsubaki and Star.

"104th squad leader reporting, sir." The blonde's eyes shoot open. She knows that voice. It's a deep, rumbling baritone that she had heard rousing her on the rooftop before after saving her. "Soul Eater." He motioned to the strange looking white-haired red-eyed boy, and he salutes them, also catching her shocked eyes.

"Albarn, you are relieved of your squad leader duties. Evans is your new squad leader now. He'll take good care of you," their brown-haired leader says, walking off into the crowd.

"Oi," Evans drawls. "You're that girl from earlier, right? You got the shit kicked outta you by that titan." She bites her lip. Not in front of her teammates. She doesn't want them to know that she had nearly died herself.

She nods distantly. She suddenly remembers who this boy was. "And you're Soul Evans, and you ranked third behind BlackStar," she says.

He smirks cockily, once again baring those sharp white teeth. Her new squad leader. She shudders. His salute wears off and his firm arms fall to his side. "Pleased to meet you too, pigtails." _He_ was their new squad leader.

She had heard about him through rumors. How he was the most skillful in using the Three Dimensional Maneuvering Gear (3DMG, as it was referred to) out of all the new recruits, and how, during training, he was the one who had slain the most fake titans. He looks nothing like a warrior. He's not thick-chested, not muscular, not hardened in his gaze like every other soldier, who had endured tragedy and pain, has. He's droopy-eyed with a snobbish demeanor.

"I have a dignified name, just for future reference," she remarks irritatedly, hands falling on the sides of her hips.

He chuckles. "I know what is it, _Maka Albarn._ You're damn famous around here. And I damn well saved your life."

She nods bitterly. "Yeah, and I hope you're not planning on doing again 'cause next time I'm saving myself."

"Feisty. Just what my team needs." He whistles loudly into the crowd. A bunch of soldiers' heads turn, and they trot towards him. A boy with short blonde hair and a firm jawline. An older-looking man with sleek black hair and glasses and a slim chin. A young girl with really short light blonde hair, and a darker and tall brunette run together towards him. A really young-looking girl with short black hair trots clumsily after them, her gear clattering behind her. Finally, Kid falls in line with the rest of them next to Soul. "Introduce yourselves nicely."

The blonde man is the first to step forward. "Clay Sizemore."

The next person is the tall man with glasses. "Akane Hoshi." He bows down at Maka's presence.

Once Akane had stepped back into formation, Kid steps forward. "Death the Kid." She already knows him.

Kid salutes her and steps back, making way for the next person to come forward. The two girls, one blonde and the other brunette, introduce themselves. "We're the Thompson sisters. Liz," the older one bows, "and this is Patty." Patty's sky blues eyes light up cheerfully as she gives them a childish wave. Her sister pulls her back into the line.

Lastly, the black-haired ditzy-looking girl steps forwards, her cheeks are flaming red. "Ts-Tsugumi Harudori!" she stammers, giving a quick salute and then retreating back into line.

Soul lumbers forward, gazing steadily at Maka. "Welcome to the squadron."

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's the end of the first chapter. I hope it met your expectations. And if it didn't, feel free to drop me a review and tell me what you think or what I need to improve on.**

**~Amber**


	2. Past Regrets

**EDIT UPDATE: I tweaked the first chapter a bit: I made Maka's fight scene with the black-haired titan slightly longer and extended the dialogue between Tsubaki and BlackStar on the rooftop scene. Feel free to read it if you want, but it still doesn't change the story line.**

**Special thanks to ****im-micheala**** for that small tip and ****Dark Dreamscape**** for helping me move on in the storyline!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Soul Eater or Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan.**

* * *

_The Recon Corps's leader took her back into the mess hall where all the soldiers were eating dinner, the same day that they had returned from their unsuccessful mission. The man knelt down to one knee and handed her a pristine orange jacket that was a whole size bigger than her 9-year-old body. "Take this," he said with a kind, age-old smile. "This was your mother's jacket. She'd want you to have it." The sniffling blonde choked back a sob and rubbed her red eyes from tears as the Recon Corp's leader reached out and secured the oversized uniform around her skinny little shoulders, wrapping it around her gently. "Don't worry. Your parents entrusted someone with taking care of you just in case they didn't return," he said to her, kneeling down to put a reassuring and firm hand on her shoulder._

_She sniveled. "Who?"_

_He brought her towards the back of the room, where the long stretch of dining tables had ended and there was a broad hallway that led into the back of the building where the corporal's room was. Their footsteps echoed throughout the pathway lit with amber-glowing candles on the way. She held onto his hand loosely, the other hand clinging onto the rim of her mother's jacket around her shoulder. "I'm sure the corporal will do a great job taking care of you. He's a kind and strong man. He even might remind you of your mother," the man said. She found his words not reassuring at all, especially after she had spent the whole day in its entirety crying._

_She only nodded weakly in response._

_They had reached the end of the hallway. The Recon Corps leader pushed open the double doors, and they creaked in slowly and carefully. The room looked like a library; each wall was lined with books of all different sizes and different hard-cover colors. There was a broad-surfaced and polished wooden desk sitting in the middle of the room. It was also mercilessly stacked with books on most of its edges. One man sat in the chair, candle sitting by his side, elbows propped up on the desk as he studied a piece of paper in front of him with intense concentration. _

_He cleared his throat towards the man sitting at the table, who seemed to pay no attention to them. "Corporal Sid Barrett? This is Recon Corps leader Edward Guiren."_

_The man was younger in comparison to most soldiers. His skin was slightly tanner and his muscular frame was outlined through his uniform, his hair was in wide, cornrowed dreadlocks. He glanced up almost immediately. Maka cocked her head at the man, tears now dried over her reddened cheeks and no longer falling from her eyes. "Yes, what is it?" he asked, mildly irritated that he had been interrupted. _

_"I'm sure you've heard of our mission," Edward said with a solemn tone._

_Sid nodded slowly, gravely. "Yes, I'm aware. I'm sorry for your loses. What do you need to tell me?" His darkened brown eyes fell upon the young girl as he perked a questioning eyebrow at her. "This girl is...the daughter of Kami and Spirit, isn't she?"_

_Guiren's grip around the young blonde's hands tightened slightly at the sound of his former members' names. "Yes, sir. I'm afraid they...did not make it back to the gates, sir," he lowered his voice, attempting to prevent the words from hitting the girl's ears. "She is in need of a new guardian. Kami and Spirit, in their will, have entrusted you in taking care of their daughter just in case a situation such as this has come up."_

_Sid rose from his desk slowly, rounding the table to stand in front of them. He stared down at the girl with a softened gaze, seemingly trying not to look intimidating. "What's you name?" he asked._

_"Maka," she answered, eyeing the man with curiosity and innocence._

_"Age?"_

_"Nine?" she answered, unsure of her words._

_He nodded to himself. He bent down to face the girl eye-level, examining the jacket she wore over her usual clothing. "This belonged to your mother?" he asked her._

_She nodded feverishly._

_He grinned. "That's good. I have a feeling you'll fit it well when you become one of us." He noticed that her eyes had been darting around the vast room repeatedly ever since they had first entered. "Do you like books, young lady?" he asked. _

_She nodded once more. _

_Sid chortled, ruffling her ash blond bangs playfully with a large hand. "Then as long as you stay with me, you can do all of the reading you want."_

* * *

The blonde takes slow strides over towards the bunk bed where a slightly tattered orange uniform jacket with a picture of a shield with a blue and silver wing overlapping each other over a shield - the emblem of the Recon Corps - hangs limply and neatly over the side. She gives a discontented sigh as she runs her hand along the leather seems of the sleeve, placing a finger on top of a blurry scribble of black that had been seemingly written long ago. Barely legible are two words in script : 'Kami Albarn.'

She climbs up to her top bunk and plops belly-up on the sheets, fingers clasping her mother's age-old jacket against her chest. Flashes of the battle from two days ago are still vivid and fresh in her brain on an endless replay. She hadn't even seen most of the gore, but she can still feel it lingering in the air and in every soldier's mind. After their first battle, most survivors had come back more lifeless than alive, their gazes reduced to listless stare into space, their conscious mind in an eternal state of shock from all of the death and tragedy experienced during relentless battle. Most of their comrades had been eaten, torn apart in front of their very eyes, body parts and limbs flung everywhere and sprawled out on the floor, painting the landscape red. Some had found that their family members had been devoured or killed before they could escape to the boats. The atmosphere in the mess hall for soldiers was deathly quiet.

That was why she had left the cafeteria and skipped dinner ever since they had returned. She could feel tension resonating throughout the room. The soldiers are zombies, vessels of their former selves once filled with spirit and hatred for titans. The last hope for mankind, now mentally reduced to rubble, traumatized.

She closes her eyes, desperately begging her mind to drift elsewhere rather than the battlefield.

She wonders if she had gotten the chance to see all of her friends devoured in front of her; would she be the same as them? Would she have been scarred like they had been? Whenever her Mama and Papa had come home from missions, they always came back with a bright smile. Never depressed. Always happy to see her.

She's about to succumb to sleep until someone raps at the wood door, jolting her awake.

Maka sits up immediately as the door creaks open slowly. A woman with sleek black hair tied in one long ponytail and kind cerulean eyes pokes her head through. She glances at the blonde and smiles. "Hey, Tsubaki," Maka says, mustering a forced smile.

She opens the door fully, revealing her leaning on two crutches against the doorframe, her left leg is wrapped up in bandages. "I was worried when you didn't come to dinner," she says with a slight tone of concern.

The pigtailed blonde swings her legs over the side of her top bunk, tucking the jacket in between her arm and her side. "It's okay. I'm not hungry anyways," she answers softly, the smile on her face slowly fading.

The woman frowns. "Everyone's waiting for you. Our new squad is filled with nice people. They all were asking where you were, even Soul - " She caught herself. It is obvious that Maka had problems with their new squad leader, despite him saving her life. Maka's eyes darken into a scowl. She mumbles something about having "leader pride" and slumps over, legs dangling limply over the side. Tsubaki sighs with exasperation. "I don't get why you don't like him that much, Maka. He may come off as a cocky jerk...but he's actually really kind."

Maka scoffs. "In what way?"

"Well...he helped me get around the lunchroom when I was walking for the first time in my crutches," she smiles modestly. "C'mon, Maka, he's not that bad."

She presses her lips together. "I'll be the judge of that. What is everyone doing now?"

"They're sitting around at a table in the cafeteria, eating. Well...they've pretty much accepted us into the team. But you don't seem to want to be apart of it. I know it's hard to accept that our comrades didn't make it back...but we need to stay strong. If we don't, we'll never survive. Remember what the garrison leader told us back when we were in training? They warned us that we'd face countless deaths, but none of it would be in vain," she says sadly.

"Can I ask you something, Tsubaki?" Maka says suddenly, gazing down into the orange jacket resting on her lap

She cocks her head at the girl. "Yes, what is it?"

"You were there, right? You were fighting alongside everyone who died."

"Yes."

"You've seen everything unravel, every single death, before your eyes. How are you so calm talking to me now, knowing what you've seen?" she asks.

Tsubaki's eyes freeze, seized by darkened pain, as if every memory she had erased from that day was now flooding in. "I..." she began, only to find herself wordless. She swallows. "I saw everyone get eaten...I never expected for something to happen so quickly. I didn't even know it happened until I lost sight of everyone..." Her voice quivers. "I never expected them to be all gone by the end of one day. I wanted to save them all." Her gaze grows vacant. "But instead, I couldn't stop them. The titans were too strong, so I lost hope."

Maka nods slowly, realizing the pain that Tsubaki had undergone. She pauses as her lower lips starts to tremble, then continues. "...I knew I was going to die on that day...but...then I saw BlackStar running towards me while I was injured. He told me he'd bring me back no matter what, with or without you, even if it killed him. Even if I would be completely useless afterwards and I was just dead weight. He gave me hope. For a moment, I felt actual relief. He saved me...in the midst of everything, he dropped his sword just to save me." She lets out a forced and exasperated chuckle. "But still, even with him by my side...There was still unbearable pain. I wanted to forget...forget what had happened so badly. I thought I couldn't handle them being gone. But then, I remembered what our commander had said. I had no choice to accept it. I had to move on. Even though I miss them very very much..." she chokes out. "But at the same time, I _can't_ miss them, because missing them more than wanting to move on will drag me down." The blonde notices a tear slinking down the middle of her cheek. "Maka, I'm not calm at all...I just...I don't want to dwell on it anymore because what has happened has happened, and that we have to accept their deaths. I loved them...Maka...but I learned to let go."

Her vision is blurred out with tears as a loud thud is heard in the background. Maka had jumped down from the bed. She feels her friend wrapping her arms around her body and holding her against her chest, resting her chin on her shoulder. "You're right, Tsubaki," Maka says gently. "But they were my men. I failed them by leaving their side. I could've protected them all." Tsubaki lets go of one of her crutches just to partially embrace her lifelong friend.

"No, that's not it, Maka. You were the one who tried the hardest. We all look up to you. It's not your fault that it happened. I mean, you're one of the toughest people I've ever met! You have to let it go! Don't feel guilty about not having them around! Even though they're gone, don't let them die in vain! Remember them every single time you go into battle, remember their spirits and take them with you." Her voice quiets. "Make sure that they didn't die for nothing."

The blonde soldier frowns deeply, mulling over her words. "I feel like I can't. Not after I let them down like that. Carrying them with me? They'd only burden me."

Tsubaki shakes her head slowly. "That's not what I mean, Maka," she says urgently. "Don't remember their deaths. Remember _them_. They'd be cheering you on, wouldn't they? They wouldn't want you to be upset like this."

Tsubaki pulls apart and wipes away the water from her eyes, leaving her puffy stained cheeks behind. She shakes away her embarrassment for crying openly to her friend and former squad leader. She lets go of her friend, who is wordless at the moment. When Maka fails to respond, Tsubaki reaches into her pocket and pulls out something bundled in a cloth. "This is for you. I saved it for you just in case you decided not to come to dinner."

She hands it to her. Maka unravels the cloth, finding that it is half of a loaf of bread, still warm and steaming. Her heart softens. "Thanks a lot, Tsubaki," she says with all the gratefulness she can muster.

"It's fine. Um...I'll head back now, if that's okay with you. Do you want me to tell them that you're alright?"

"Yeah. Just tell them that I'm tired."

"Okay. See you later?"

The weary blonde nods.

She closes the door as her injured friend limps away after reassuring her that she could walk on her own. Maka returns to her bunk bed, sinking down into the mattress to once again mull over her thoughts.

_'Don't remember their deaths. Remember them.'_

They were the first reassuring words she had heard since the day they had come back from that mission.

* * *

She waits until after dark, after everyone had gone off to their bedrooms to sleep. Now changed in her sleeping clothing and pigtails undone, she lays awake in her bed, staring emptily at the wooden ceiling and watches the weak lantern cast shifting shadows with each flicker as her friend Tsubaki slept in the bed directly under her. Two other roommates share a room with them. Their beds are located across the room. Maka sits up slowly, quietly, listening to every creak the bed frame utters. She slips down the ladder slowly, wincing at every groan the rungs make as she leans her weight on them.

She takes the lantern with her to guide her down the darkened hallways of the building, turning her head every once in a while to make sure that no one was behind her. Held in her other hand is a hard-cover book. She manages to stride all the way to the mess hall, which is eerily empty.

Her eyes rove around the room to make sure that no one was occupying any of the seats, but no other trace of light entered the room except for her small flame. Maka sighs with relief and takes a seat at a table, setting the lantern in front of her. Finally, she gets a chance to spend some quality time with peace and quiet. She takes the book and begins to read. Finally, she gets to start that novel she's always wanted to read before she goes into the battle with the high possibility of not coming back. After all, her mother had given it to her in secrecy years ago.

She flips open the first page, absorbing every word that her eye catches. It tells of a grassy meadow basking under the bright light of the sun while animals and birds pass through the landscape. It tells of all kinds of unseen animals - bears, deers, wolves, foxes - all the creatures that she had yet to see. Flipping the page, she admires a beautifully painted waterfall - another sight she'd probably never live to see. The page next to it depicts a long range of mountains, each dusted with their own individual snowy caps.

Everything in her book were all outside of the walls that surrounded them and haven't been seen ever since they built it. Generations upon generations of people living within the walls had yet to sneak a glance at what lays beyond their huge barricade. In fact, the government had even banned novels about them to prevent the citizens from having hope of reaching the outside. Books such as the one laying out in front of her are illegal. But that could not stop from piquing her curiosity. Her mother had read it to her one day, telling her to keep it a secret.

A smile tugs at her lips. The book even has the small crinkle on the last page that her mother had accidentally made while flipping it too roughly. She fiddles with the crease longingly. Even though her pain had been buried under the years of training and hours of getting lost in the world of Sid's books, she still felt its presence. She misses her mother sorely. And her father had been ruled missing. She accepts that her Papa is in the same place as her mother.

"Whatcha doin'?" a deep and husky baritone snaps out of nowhere.

She's startled, slapping the book shut out of instinct as she glances at a boy with stark white hair, droopy garnet eyes gazing lazily down at her. Her look of surprise turns into distaste as she swivels her head the other way with an indignant huff. "I'm reading. What's it to you?" she mutters.

Soul leans down on the table with interest. "Well, you didn't come to dinner. So, as the proper squad leader I am, I worry about my newest member," he muses, placing a finger on her book. Maka swings her head around, alarmed that the boy was touching her precious book. She snatches the book off the table and tucks it under her arm protectively, shooting a glare at him.

"This is mine, don't touch," she snaps at him. Soul gives an entertained smirk. "Why are you bothering me? Can't you see I'm trying to read?"

Soul chuckles. "I can see that, pigtails. So what kind of reading are you doing that's so important that it makes you get out of bed so late at night?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," she deadpans.

"Well, I'm on patrol duty, making sure that no one in my brigade is stupid enough to break curfew and sneak out of their rooms just to read a book," he retorts smoothly. Maka scowls at him."Now if you'd be so kind as to return to your room, then I will continue on with my patrol, pigtails."

"Stop calling me that. I'm not even wearing pigtails right now!"

"Why not? I think a cute nickname like that fits you well," he says playfully.

The blonde shoots him a frustrated glare. "Why do you insist on bothering me?"

Soul mulls over his thoughts for a moment. "Bothering, huh? Y'know, we can just have a normal conversation if you'd want."

"No, I mean why do you keep coming to _me_?" she asks.

"Well, you just happened to be here. And I _did_ save your life, didn't I?" he says.

Maka reddens to her surprise. "Yeah, but - "

"And to think, I never even got a proper 'thank you,'" he says as he saunters over to the other side of her.

"I was gonna thank you, asshat!" she counters angrily. "You don't have to push it." She's trying her best to detain the feeling of wanting to punch him. Or at least chop him over the head with her book. She figures that his skull isn't worth damaging the book for.

He presses his lips together. "I'll accept that thank you."

She quirks an eyebrow at him as the boy bends down and leans in towards her to get a better look at her candle-lit face. "...Are you flirting with me?" she asks with a dry, unsurprising realization.

"Pfft," Soul chuckles and draws back. "As if I'd flirt with a flat-chested girl like yourself. I'd much rather have a girl with _at least_ twice the bust size as yours."

Her temper soars and hand automatically reaches for the book. "Maka CHOP!" she yells as she swing the edge of the hard-cover right on the top of his skull, leaving a decent square-sized dent in his cranium. Soul yelps with pain and jumps back, startled. "Is that _all_ you have to say?" she asks, disappointment in her gaze.

"What the fuck was that for!?" he demands. "Do you always go around and smack people in the head with books all the time?!"

"Only when they piss me off,"she huffs, subduing a satisfied grin from reaching her lips.

He glares his ruby eyes at her as he tenderly reaches for the top of his head to rub it. "As squad leader I might as well kick you outta my team," he retorts.

"You wouldn't dare," she says flatly.

"Try me."

"Actually, you wouldn't want to. After all, I ranked better than you during training. Kicking me out means losing one of your best members."

Soul casts her a scowl. "Fine. You win this round, pigtails," he says sourly.

Maka allows a triumphant smirk to spread across her face. "Good."

"We'll see who's truly better tomorrow at combat training," he says.

"Is that a challenge?"

He chuckles and pauses to glance around the empty room. "Eh, this is getting pretty boring so I'll take my leave. But next time I come around here I better not see you here or else I'll have to personally _escort_ you back to your room, got it?"

Maka growls at his barking tone. "Alright, fine. I'll go." In a huff, she stands up with her book and lantern and strides off into the dark hall, leaving Soul the only lone lantern-holding person in the room.

"Pfft," he chuckles to himself. "It's gonna be a long season, isn't it?"

* * *

The following morning, Tsubaki finds that the situation between the former squad-leader and current squad-leader are no different, especially since both were being all fired up from combat training. She notices the fire in their gazes every time their eyes meet or even stand close to each other. Since she's injured, she has no choice but to sit out during training, which took place near their military building out in an empty field of dust surrounded by forest. On this day she noticed that it was particularly hot. The sun's light shines down mercilessly, beads of sweat leaking from every soldiers' foreheads as they stood patiently for their commander Sid to lead them in today's training.

The garrison, who looks more dead than alive with their sullen and glazed-over gazes, stood straight and in-line under the searing hot air and is completely silent. Soul and Maka, however, are glaring at each other while they stood, as if exchanging an unspoken dialogue inaudible to everyone else but themselves. Soul smirks while she scowls at him.

Sid strides over with his hands tucked behind his back in front of the regiment. He stomp a foot down and swivels his body to face them, and they all simultaneously salute him with their regular motion - right fist on their hearts over their chest, left fist behind their back. Sid nods towards all of them and they release their pose. "As you know," he says with a firm and commanding voice, "Today is the second day of training since the invasion of Wall Maria. We'll be doing combat training today..."

The first exercise is easy. Just a casual roundhouse kick delivered to the empty air in front of them. And then, casual and firm fist thrusts. But then, a partner to practice with. Everyone separates from the large group and forms little clumps of people around the field, all practicing lightly on each other.

Maka and Soul almost immediately confront each other. BlackStar follows after Maka, and the rest of Soul's squad trails behind him. Tsubaki smiles at their competitive glances. "You ready, Albarn?" he asks with a cocky smile.

"Ready to humiliate you in front of your entire brigade, yes," she smirks.

They make way for a small circle around the two, keeping distance between them. Kid, Liz, Patty, BlackStar, Tsugumi, Clay, and Akane all watch as Maka and their squad leader eye each other dangerously, both poised to attack. "Let's start, shall we?" he asks. "A fight to see who's better."

"Fine by me," she says. She lifts one leg and clenches her fists in front of her as she swings around with a skillfully delivered kick to his face. Soul uses his forearms to block her foot in an x-formation with ease.

"Nice try," he grins. He makes an attempt to grab her ankle but Maka lowers her leg and uses her other leg to execute another roundhouse kick, catching him off guard. It lands right in his side.

Kid cringes as he watches as his squad leader clasps his left side and doubles over after taking the blow. "_I'm sorry_," Maka says with a fake tone of innocence. "But you were inviting me to do that."

Soul shoots her a pissed glare. After he rubs his side for a moment and grumbles to himself, he straightens himself up. "No fair! I wasn't ready for that."

"Oh, do you want me to go easy on you, great squad leader?" she muses, amusing herself with his pain.

"My turn!" he lunges with a roundhouse of his own, but Maka ducks around gracefully and dodges. He growls with frustration as his blow misses, and chases after her. He jabs towards her stomach, but she side-steps and smacks his arm away. "Gotcha!" As she's stepping, he uses his other arm to grab her wrist hard. He yanks her towards him.

He manages to wrap his arm around her stomach and secure her arms by her sides. "Let go of me!" she growls.

"Not until you give up," he answers slyly in her ear as she squirms and twists in his grasp.

"Nope." She tries to duck and slips out of his arms but he only squeezes her tighter against his chest. He was abnormally warm as she presses up against his body. His arms are like vices. "Then you're asking for this," she retorts, wriggling an arm free.

"Gah!" he cries as she jabs her elbow repeatedly into his stomach, loosening his grip. She stomps on his foot, causing him to jump back. Soul realigns himself and regains his stunned mind. He's shocked that she had managed to out do him in martial arts. Plus her footwork was astoundingly perfect, and her strength nearly rivaled his. Soul glances around and sees that his squad members are looking at him doubtfully. "Pfft. I was going easy on you that time. Now it's for real."

Maka sighs. "Okay, come at me then." Soul gives her no warning before her charges at her, planning on striking before she can do anything. He throws a fist aimed for her head. However, she simply tilts her head and narrowly avoids the punch, proceeding to maneuver her arm around his and grab his wrist. She swings around and twists his arm painfully behind him. He bites back a grunt of pain. "Ready to give up now?" she chuckles.

Soul grinds his teeth against the agony. "No!"

Maka unhands his wrist and he pulls back a few feet. "Then try again!" she challenges. For the last time, he give it another go.

The blonde blocks a punch with her forearms and grabs hold of his arm, slinging him over her shoulder with immense strength. Soul doesn't even have time to think as she flips him and he smashes to the ground on his back. The dry and crusted dirt rises up around him. He sees his teammates' mouths are agape in shock and partial amusement that he was getting his ass kicked.

She straightens up and pretends to yawn. "Are you done yet? It's pretty hot out here."

As soon as she unhands his wrist, he turns around to give her a leg sweep, tripping to her to the ground. Soul laughs. "Not yet."

Backside covered in dirt, Maka glares daggers with her olive green eyes. "Fine! Play dirty like that!" She jumps at him and wrestles with him, each one trying to over power the other.

Tsubaki winces as the two have each other in a stalemate, Maka using one hand to push against his chest and the other hand against his face, pulling at his cheek, while Soul had grabbed on of her pigtails and is yanking at it and the other hand is holding the hand grabbing his cheek. Their legs are tangled while they roll around in the ground. Both look ridiculous, like two elementary children getting into a fight.

Kid sighs. "Is anyone gonna stop them...?" he asks hopelessly.

"Nah, I think it's pretty entertaining!" BlackStar guffaws.

"Won't they hurt themselves?" Liz asks, slightly concerned.

"Just let them finish what they started," Akane advises.

"Ow! Stop pulling my hair!" Maka yells as he gives her sand-colored hair another merciless tug.

"I'll shhtop when you let go!" he retorts, speech mangled with one of her thumbs pulling at the edge of his cheek.

They tumble around and kick up some more dirt as they struggle around while their teammates watch. "I thought we were shhuposhed to be fighting!" Soul says.

"Yeah, we were until you tripped me, idiot!" she glares. "So let go of me!"

"I shaid I'll shtop when you do!"

"Fine, then let go!"

"No way!"

"No, you let go first! How will I know you'll let me go if you do?!"

"Let'sh let go at the shame time then!" he suggests.

"Okay! One...two...!"

"Three!"

They release their hold on each other at the same time, flopping backwards. They look exhausted and their legs were still tangled up together. Maka scowls and pulls herself up off the ground. "You were supposed to do a roundhouse kick, idiot! You messed it up!"

"S'cuse me? You were the one who had to flip me!" he retorts. "That was uncalled for!"

"That's only because you attacked me! I was doing it out of self-defense!" she defends.

"Yeah, sure it was!"

"Well, I guess this decided who's better at combat."

"No way! I'm just warming up here!"

"Sure, you just don't wanna admit that you got your ass handed to you by a girl," she dismisses. She stops herself as soon as she sees Soul wide-eyed and staring at the space behind her.

They both quiet down as Corporal Sid seemingly materializes out of nowhere, right behind Kid with his arms crossed and a disappointed gaze. "You two have a problem being together?"

Maka shakes her head. "No, we're just practice fighting, that's all."

Soul side-glares her for answering falsely first. "Yeah."

"This doesn't look like a professional practice, with you all covered in dirt like that," he examines. "Could you tell me _how_ this happened?"

They exchange somewhat guilty glances and Soul grumbles to himself. "We were trying to do a simple demonstration, until Maka flipped me," he finishes.

"What? No! You tried to punch me!" she counters.

"Enough, both of you," Sid says, firmly. "Maka, come with me." Maka frowns. "Just come." Maka sighs and trudges over towards him and he escorts her away. "Continue practicing," he orders before he's out of earshot.

After they are far away from her squad and nearing the forest edge, Maka continues to walk slowly alongside her former mentor, who had watched over her for the past eight years. She's quiet, head hung low, cheeks smeared with dust. Sid comes to a stop as he glances up at the next tree. He gives a disappointed sigh, prompting her to say something. "You know, it wasn't my fault," she says.

"I understand. But what I've heard from Tsubaki is that you and your new squad leader aren't getting along so good," he answers. "What's the problem? I've looked after you for eight years - "

"Five years, actually. I left for the military when I was fourteen, remember?" she corrects.

"Yes, five years, and I've known you. You were not the type of person to argue much less fight with your superior - "

"_He's_ my superior? Really?" she asks with frustration.

Sid sighs and pauses. "And, you were also the type of girl with willpower. You were as stubborn as a mule crossed with an ox," he chuckles. "Just like Kami was."

The blonde soldier perks her head up at the mention of her mother.

"I see the look in your eye, her eyes had the same fire and fierceness that was more than any soldier in this whole garrison. And, since you have this much determination and willpower, may I ask you one thing?"

She nods slowly.

"I want you to get along with Soul Evans." He holds up a halting hand before she can protest. "I know, I know. He is...very aloof. And he may not seem like the best person out there, but he's a good soldier. You saw him out in the field, did you? He's skilled in using his gear. He may be the best 3DGM user we have. Even though he's not nearly as good as you are when it comes to combat."

Maka frowns. "Barely," she mutters. "But...he did save my life."

"Then whenever you get mad at him, just remind yourself of what he did for you," Sid finishes and gives her a hefty pat on the back. "I'm done talking to you for now. Continue with your training."

She returns to the training ground where her team is waiting for her. Soul still stood in the middle, waiting for her with a sour look on his face. "What was that all about?" he asks.

"Nothing. I'm tired. Someone else can take over. I'll go rest now," she answers flatly.

Soul shrugs. "Fine. Suit yourself."

Tsubaki smiles as Maka decides to retire fighting next to her on her post on the bench, overseeing all of the groups practicing. "I saw that, Maka," she smiles.

"You mean you saw that I was kicking his ass?" Maka smiles deviously.

She chuckles. "Well yeah, but don't you think you should've held back a bit?" She reaches to her left and picks up a canister of water, offering some to her blond friend. Maka gulps it down greedily.

"No," she says as she wipes a drop of water trickling down the side of her mouth. "I wanted to show him who's better anyways."

"Well, we're gonna be with him for a while and I don't want to start off with the wrong foot with him."

"That's my problem, Tsubaki, not yours."

"We'll be on missions with him, so I was thinking that the more you two bond the better off we'll be. You know? There'd be more cooperation."

"I know."

"Besides, why do you hate him so much?"

Maka tilts her head, mulling over her thoughts. "Hm..."

Tsubaki patiently awaits her answer as she gazes out into the field, watching as BlackStar jump-kicks Kid and Kid blocks, making Star fall backwards. The whole group can't contain their laughter as Star grumbles as he picks himself off the ground.

"So, what is it?"

"I don't really _hate_ him. I guess...he kinda rubs on me the wrong way. I know he's not that bad of a guy. He's kinda like me. He wants to prove he's better. Plus, he's _horrible_ at flirting."

"Am I really that bad?" His voice comes out of nowhere, startling both of them.

"S-Soul! What are you doing here?!" she stammers, flustered.

"I was just walking over to get some water until I heard you talking about me," he says, sighing. "Am I really that bad a flirting?"

She shakes her head, attempting to flush away her blush. "N-No! I mean, yes! You were horrible!"

Soul smirks. "Well then, that makes two of us."

"You think I was flirting back there? No! Why would I flirt with some asshole like you?!" she demands, temper flaring.

Tsubaki chuckles nervously. "Um...I wouldn't want to get in between you two, so excuse me..." She edges away down the bench slowly, gathering her crutches and limping off elsewhere.

"Well, you seemed pretty into it yesterday," he muses. She glares. "Alright, I'm joking. I know you hate me. Can I just ask why?"

"I told you it's not like that!" she says. "I...I don't hate you."

"Then why do you act like you do?" he asks.

She pauses, allowing a brief beat of silence in between them. "Ever since I lost my squad, I haven't been able to forgive myself. They were all counting on me to protect them, and I couldn't even do that. I ranked second best trainee, and yet I couldn't even save one of them." She sighs. "I feel so pathetic, knowing that I let them down like that. Now they're not even here to hear me say it. And now, BlackStar and Tsubaki know how I failed."

"So, you think you'll prove yourself by proving that you're better than me? Is that all it is?" he finishes for her.

"Well, you excluded the fact that you're a jerk," she adds in helpfully.

Soul shakes his head. "Yeah yeah, whatever. But y'know, you have a new team now. Think of it like a new start. Your friend was right about acting like a team. This is now your team, so we should act like one, yourself included."

"A new start?" Maka wonders to herself.

'_Don't remember their deaths. Remember them.'_

She decides that Tsubaki was right the whole time.

Soul perks an eyebrow at her. "Well? Are you gonna join the squad for real or not?"

She nods. "Alright."

Soul grins. "That's good. Now we can finally start acting like a whole team."

* * *

"So...if this squad flanks the rear entrance...and then this squad attacks directly, then - " The door swings open quickly as Recon Corps leader Edward Guiren mutters to himself. The man straightens up at his desk, clasping small puzzle pieces that symbolized different squads that they could utilize.

Sid edges in, making his way towards the desk which had a vast map of the outside world. "Sir, we have a suggestion for our next move. Since the Recon Corp's missions have been suspended for now or until further notice, we think all of our troops and all of the squadrons related to the Recon Corps should concentrate their energy on trying to recapture the area within Wall Maria from the titans. We cannot wait any longer. Even though it's only been a few days since the invasion, we are already running low on food to give to the masses who have evacuated from that area. We feel that it is absolutely necessary to at least try, even though we have a shortage on troops."

"Hm..." Guiren thinks hard, brows furrowed. "I see the urgency."

"We suggest mobilizing the troops and the cannons as soon as possible," Sid advises.

"But if we keep trying to launch a counterattack with little strategic planning, who knows how many soldiers we'll lose this time?" he says.

"We have no choice, commander," he answers. "If this continues, the population will die within the walls, no titans involved."

He sighs with discontent. "People will die anyways, corporal. Soldiers will die."

"I know we can't seem to win this. Everything seems bleak at the moment, but if we were to reconquer Wall Maria, then we may finally be able to restore humanity's dignity. We're aware that people will have to be sacrificed in order to achieve this."

"I know. I just don't want to put my troops under more pressure than they have to endure. They have suffered enough already."

Sid nods. "I know."

"So, what is the final decision?"

"That's up to you, sir. The whole mission awaits your order."

Guiren stands, placing his pieces over the large map. "...As much as I know we will regret this decision, I think it's best that we at least try."

"When will we mobilize?" Sid asks.

"Give them three days to prepare. Humanity's counterattack must begin soon."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I'm late! I know, it's summer so I should be updating like crazy. Sadly, I haven't been able to. I'll keep trying, though! **

**Reviews are much appreciated!**

**~Amber**


End file.
